Alpines Blooming Out Of Rhythm

[Kristl Walek]

Because I have never gardened before except in (very) cold places, I have no experience with spring blooming alpines deciding to bloom in November. Here in milder Nova Scotia, the saxifrages are budding and some in bloom right now. I know other forum members will have experience with this.

Does this mean there will be no spring bloom if they are blooming now? Or do I get 2 blooming periods in one year?

[Sinchets]

We have a lot of plants rebloomng here in the garden- not all are alpines, but I think the common denominator is mild weather following rain. In my experience it does not stop them flowering again in spring.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I also have some Saxifraga blooming right now and out here, this happens quite often, however, every flower opening now is one less next Spring...    They will still flower in Spring as well, but in my experience less abundently.

Depends on what you like best : some colour in Autumn/Winter brightening up the darker days, combined with a somewhat less colourfull Spring, or the Saxes covered in flowers in the early Spring colour explosion.  I go for the second scenario anytime !    but that's just my view.

[Lesley Cox]

I'm inclined to agree Luc, after all autumn provides all those crocuses, colchicums and sternbergias as well as early galanthus etc, and cyclamen of course. My Rhodo. forrestii repens always flowers quite well in the autumn and I'm lucky to get a flower in spring when it should but Gentiana acaulis flowers at both seasons. My saxes generally behave nicely though, and wait for (very early) spring.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

but Gentiana acaulis flowers at both seasons. My saxes generally behave nicely though, and wait for (very early) spring.

Gentiana acaulis also produces the odd flower for me in Autumn - I don't find the colour to be as good as in Spring though...

[Sinchets]

Sometimes springs here are dry and sometimes autumns are dry- so a good show in a wet autumn may not necessarily take away blooms from the spring display here. As long as the plants flower at some point, I am happy knowing that I should get seed. 

[krisderaeymaeker]

Have a first tiny flower on one of my Dionysia's and also Androsace sericea is flowering.

[Maggi Young]

Wow, Kris, your close up photo of the Dionysia flower,( which I would estimate to be around 5 or 6 mm across ??) really shows the white "paste" eye.... so reminiscent of a primula auricula flower! 

[krisderaeymaeker]

Wow, Kris, your close up photo of the Dionysia flower,( which I would estimate to be around 5 or 6 mm across ??) really shows the white "paste" eye.... so reminiscent of a primula auricula flower! 

Yes Maggi ,it is that little ......so I had to take a makro lens (is this correct English ?)
As you know for such pictures you need much light  and yesterday the sun was there a bit for one hour ,so I took my chance.There was not enough light anyway but I had to satisfied with it. 
Yes offcorse,here we see the relationship between the both ......     

[Katherine J]

Here also occurs the second blooming in autumn, mostly for gentians, primulas and saxifrages. It means only a few flowers, and maybe it wakens a little the plant, but I  and my friends here can not say that the spring blooming ispoorer in this case...
But they flower also on the mountains, where th autumn is much colder than here.
Here area few pics from the mountains with autumn blooming:

Gentiana brachyphylla:



Gentiana clusii:



Gentiana verna:



Primula clusiana:

[Maggi Young]

Beautiful photos, Kata!
We here in our garden do not find that the autumn flowers mean there will be poor flowering in Spring... one or two flowers less is hardly a problem to us... we find that the plants which flower in Autumn are often big and strong and so there is no weakening for the spring flowering. We are just so happy to have the extra flowers!

[Sinchets]

I agree, Maggi. The plants are just doing what they are meant to do that is to flower when the conditions are appropriate.

[cohan]

beautiful place, plants and photos, kathryn!

[Katherine J]

We are just so happy to have the extra flowers!

So do I, Maggi.

I'm happy You like the pics. Autumn colors with blues of Gentians is quite striking, but I like it anyway.

[ranunculus]

Lovely images, Kata.